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IBM has again teased small hardware, this time in the form of an update for its smallest POWER server. The model S1112, teased Tuesday in a customer announcement, is a 2U, single-socket POWER11 server IBM offers in rack-mountable and what the company calls “Tower/deskside configuration.” The rackable model can handle a ten-core POWER processor. The Tower/deskside form factor machine must make do with a four-core engine IBM seems to have two roles in mind for the new machines: edge deployments and standalone use by those who are taking their first strides into using the last remaining proprietary minicomputer ecosystem. One is edge deployments. The other is as an entry-level box, with the description of the tower unit suggesting its very existence means “even the smallest customers” can use it as an on-ramp to more POWER implementations. News of the S1112 marks the second time in a week that IBM has gone low with modest hardware. Last week Big Blue teased the z17 ME2, a rackable mainframe that it said completed its range by offering a smaller and cheaper piece of hardware. The twin launches continue IBM’s policy of creating smaller versions of its enterprise hardware, albeit well after launch of big iron: the first POWER 11 boxes landed in July 2025 and the first z17 series mainframes debuted in April of the same year. The S1112 includes a quartet of DIMM slots and can handle up to 512GB of DDR5 memory. The box runs IBM i, AIX, and Linux – or all three because it supports IBM’s PowerVM virtualization tools. In an almost certain non-coincidence, Big Blue on Tuesday also announced upgrades for PowerVM including improved automation and support for the S1112. Big Blue has also looked after users of bigger POWER fleets, by expanding the number of Spyre accelerators – IBM’s neural processing units – that POWER servers can support from eight to twelve. IBM pitches POWER as a capable AI platform, so allowing it to use more accelerators can’t hurt. IBM plans to start selling most of the kit described above on July 24, although customers who crave the S1112 to deploy in Taiwan will have to wait until September. 15. Would-be buyers in South Africa, India, and China must wait longer still, until December 11. ®
IBM has again teased small hardware, this time in the form of an update for its smallest POWER server. The model S1112, teased Tuesday in a customer announcement, is a 2U, single-socket POWER11 server IBM offers in rack-mountable and what the company calls “Tower/deskside configuration.” The rackable model can handle a ten-core POWER processor. The Tower/deskside form factor machine must make do with a four-core engine IBM seems to have two roles in mind for the new machines: edge deployments and standalone use by those who are taking their first strides into using the last remaining proprietary minicomputer ecosystem. One is edge deployments. The other is as an entry-level box, with the description of the tower unit suggesting its very existence means “even the smallest customers” can use it as an on-ramp to more POWER implementations. News of the S1112 marks the second time in a week that IBM has gone low with modest hardware. Last week Big Blue teased the z17 ME2, a rackable mainframe that it said completed its range by offering a smaller and cheaper piece of hardware. The twin launches continue IBM’s policy of creating smaller versions of its enterprise hardware, albeit well after launch of big iron: the first POWER 11 boxes landed in July 2025 and the first z17 series mainframes debuted in April of the same year. The S1112 includes a quartet of DIMM slots and can handle up to 512GB of DDR5 memory. The box runs IBM i, AIX, and Linux – or all three because it supports IBM’s PowerVM virtualization tools. In an almost certain non-coincidence, Big Blue on Tuesday also announced upgrades for PowerVM including improved automation and support for the S1112. Big Blue has also looked after users of bigger POWER fleets, by expanding the number of Spyre accelerators – IBM’s neural processing units – that POWER servers can support from eight to twelve. IBM pitches POWER as a capable AI platform, so allowing it to use more accelerators can’t hurt. IBM plans to start selling most of the kit described above on July 24, although customers who crave the S1112 to deploy in Taiwan will have to wait until September. 15. Would-be buyers in South Africa, India, and China must wait longer still, until December 11. ®
Indian tech services giant and retro software house HCL has decided to get into the AI datacenter business. The company yesterday revealed its plan in an announcement [PDF] released alongside its Q1 results, which included news of three-percent year-over-year revenue growth to $3.65 billion and 20 percent growth in net income which reached $488 million. CEO C. Vijayakumar also pointed to 62 percent year-over-year revenue growth for a segment HCL calls “Advanced AI” that encompasses building its own AI platforms. The CEO said HCL’s strategy is to “Benefit disproportionately from the AI-native and AI-amplified opportunities” because they “together represent the fastest growing pool of enterprise spend.” The company has therefore decided to get into the datacenter business and has found ₹3,500 crore ($36.5 million) to put toward facilities it says have “potential to scale to 50MW of capacity.” That’s not a vast facility – just one of Meta’s datacenters will host 50GW of kit – but Vijayakumar said HCL can make it relevant by using its existing software to offer “full-stack” infrastructure. “The biggest opportunity is not to rent AI, but to own the full stack,” the CEO said. “The datacenters that compute the models built to address client-specific needs.” “This is a business which is shifting from physical infrastructure to higher value AI-ready solutions,” he added. “We will create full-stack offerings by combining our capabilities across AI datacenter design, DevOps, and cloud operations, as well as a software portfolio with our new datacenter business.” HCL’s focus appears to be on Indian customers, as Vijayakumar said the datacenter investment will “position us as a key enabler of India’s sovereign AI ecosystem, expanding our presence in the fastest-growing market among largest economies with differentiated offerings around sovereign cloud, secure AI, and managed AI infrastructure.” The CEO said HCL is already “in advanced discussions with clients to ensure we start with certain level of committed consumption from day one.” The company didn’t say where it will build its bit barns, when they might come online, or how it will secure energy supply – an important consideration given we yesterday reported on an effort to locate a datacenter in renewable-energy-rich Bhutan to serve Indian customers. Vijayakumar also revealed that HCL booked $2.4 billion of new business in the quarter, a record. The CEO pointed to one of those deals as an exemplar of HCL’s AI smarts, as it will see the services company work with an unnamed Fortune 250 semiconductor equipment OEM “to accelerate AI-driven transformation across its semiconductor engineering and manufacturing value stream.” To make that happen, HCL will deploy SAP, integrate it with existing systems, and establish “an enterprise backbone for a future-ready, scalable, AI-led digital supply chain.” Another new deal, struck earlier this month and therefore not included in the $2.4 billion of new deals won in the quarter ended June 30, will see HCL work with an unidentified “Europe-headquartered Fortune Global 50 firm as a technology partner to accelerate AI-led transformation and management of their digital workplace and enterprise networks.” Numerous reports in Indian media identified the new client as Mercedes Benz, and suggest the automotive giant has moved its business to HCL from Infosys, which announces its quarterly results next week. ®
niggyl :) has added a photo to the pool:
Riding in the passenger seat heading south on a foggy morning. Railton Road, Latrobe, northern Tasmania.
Shooting randomly like this is not always rewarded with keepers... not entirely sure this is one!
Ricoh GRiii, 18.3mm GR lens, 1/1600th sec at f/10, ISO 400.
Underground discovery could help save one of the world's rarest mammals, Northern hairy-nosed wombats.
One of the world's most critically endangered animals may be able to live in more areas than conservationists realised.
Ik sta voor een dichte deur van het hoofdkantoor van Anthropic. Althans, ik dacht dat dit het hoofdkantoor van Anthropic was. Google Maps leidde me naar dit adres in San Francisco, maar door de beplakte ramen zie ik een lege betonnen vloer met schildertrapjes en emmers verf. Het uit de kluiten groeiende AI-bedrijf blijkt net
Het was een week vol aanvallen en dreigementen tussen de VS en Iran. Het bestand tussen de twee landen lijkt nu definitief ten einde.
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Microsoft is overhauling Windows 11 search to prioritize local apps, files, and settings over web results while removing ads, promotions, MSN/Bing clutter, and other distractions. "You've have been asking for search that is faster, more relevant, and easier to use -- whether you're opening an app, finding a file, or changing a setting," Microsoft says in a new blog post. "Because the Windows Search Box is where many people start, we focused first on making results more dependable, easier to scan, and clearer before you click." Windows Central reports: The company is highlighting several key improvements, including clearer results that does a better job at showing why a search result is appearing when a query has been typed, alongside prioritizing local results before reaching out to the web.
Search is also getting better at handling things like typos, which should help surface the right results even when the user misspells an app or file. The search home pane will no longer show MSN or Bing content, and promotional content and ads will no longer appear in search results.
These upgrades are now rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Experimental Channel, and are expected to roll out to all Windows 11 users later this year. Insiders may not see the changes right away as they are rolling out in waves. The full list of changes can be found here.
Search is also getting better at handling things like typos, which should help surface the right results even when the user misspells an app or file. The search home pane will no longer show MSN or Bing content, and promotional content and ads will no longer appear in search results.
These upgrades are now rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Experimental Channel, and are expected to roll out to all Windows 11 users later this year. Insiders may not see the changes right away as they are rolling out in waves. The full list of changes can be found here.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.